Yours, Mine, and Ours
by MD13
Summary: Natsu returns to Magnolia almost three years after the Alvarez war with a surprise: twins! And the twins of he and a certain ice mage at that. Why was Natsu gone for so long? What else is he hiding? And who is he hiding from? Will the guild find out about him and his children or will Natsu end up on the run again before they get the chance? (Suck at summaries) *Warning: Spoilers!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Secret

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"Well," Mavis and Zeref pushed for the fifteenth time.

"Well what?" Natsu asked, even though he knew the answer.

He was too exhausted to argue with the couple, having multiple sleepless nights. He was never given a break with them (and he wasn't talking about his brother and his wife Mavis). They must have gotten it from Natsu since their father was one of the calmest people you would ever meet. He was ready to fall asleep standing up. It wasn't until his brother kicked him that he realized he _had_ fallen asleep. Screw being a S class wizard and SS class jobs. This job was ten times harder.

The pink haired mage looked down at the little matching pink haired toddlers in their separate cribs, peacefully sleeping under their blankets with their initials stitched onto it (a gift from Mavis; one of many). At least some of them were getting some rest. The circles under Natsu's eyes were dark enough to rival Gray's hair. At least the twins were potty trained so that gave him some form of ease be but nighttime was still often a problem. You would think after almost two years they would be better, but they still kept him up more often than not. Something the two got from him, definitely not from their father. And speaking of him...

"Well, are you going to tell him or not? This is the first time you've seen him since, ya know..." Mavis tilted her head in the toddlers direction.

The emerald eyed male shrugged his shoulders in response. "Maybe."

"Maybe? Maybe! He needs to know Natsu!" The no longer dead first master said loudly while her husband silently nodded in agreement.

The three adults looked over to see the toddlers blinking, their big cobalt blue eyes slowly opening. The female blinked a couple of times before giggling and putting her arms out. "Mama!" Natsu scooped her up and sighed, sending both of his siblings –both blood related and non– an icy glare.

"The zombies woke you up, huh?" He said to the almost two year old child as he rubbed her back soothingly, swaying from side to side in hope that she would fall back asleep.

Instead of closing her eyes, she giggled and pointed at the blonde. "Hi Aunnie Mae! Hi Unnel Zee!"

No such luck then. Zeref shot him a glare for the nickname he gave the no longer cursed "dead" mages before sighing. "Think about Crys and Nix. They deserves to know who their father is."

"Papa?" The toddler's male counterpart piped, now fully awake as well.

"They have a father." was the simply reply.

The blonde put her hands on her hips. "You know what I meant. I meant their actual father. Not you, who's technically their _mother_."

He just shrugged. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Crystal and Phoenix's other parent about them. Who knew what he would do? He didn't even know about who Natsu really was and the fire mage didn't know if he wanted to see his ex's reaction. He would most likely yell at him or be disgusted with him or pretend they didn't exist. And God forbid, try to take vengeance and attempt to kill him. Natsu unconsciously picked up his son and held the twins closer. No one would separate him from his children. He refused for that to happen.

"He would never harm you." Zeref read his baby brother's mind. "He's not blinded and consumed by his anger and hatred"

"...anymore." Mavis added, knowing that he used to be hell bent on destroying everything associated with the black wizard, including and especially, E.N.D.

Not to mention the black wizard himself. But the ice mage was not an idiot. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance with the powerful mage so he turned his attention to the demons until after the war and it was announced that Natsu was killed along with the demon E.N.D (something not that far from the truth). Of course no one believed him. He was _Zeref_ after all. The face of all evil and the creator of E.N.D, hence the indirect cause for Natsu's "death." And the guild –as expected– went batshit crazy with everyone, especially Team Natsu, attacking the black wizard. Erza had requipped into her nakagami armor in less than a second along with Lucy, who had been ready in her star dress: Leo form, with Loke next to her and ready to pounce. Wendy was already in dragon force and Gray had let all of his devil slayer magic out, the tattoo spreading across his entire right side until he ended up in the same form he was in when at the Avatar guild. The four –five including Loke– had all attacked simultaneously and that first single attack would have killed anyone else, even Mavis herself, but it was Zeref so while harm was definitely done, he had self healed seconds later; something that had pissed Team Natsu off. At least the black wizard had the sense to stay down.

Gray had been the last one to keep beating him, his stamina outdoing Erza's; not that it was a shock seeing as how he was Natsu's mate. His supposed "death" had broken the ice devil slayer. Neither Zeref nor Mavis told the fire mage that tidbit. They knew that he would go into an automatic depression knowing that he was the source of his mates despair. That was why they had made sure to keep the now twenty three year old as far away from the Fairy Tail guild as possible. The greater the distance before mates, the easier it was to not feel the others emotion through their bond. The two had only been mates for a short while –although they had feelings for another for a much longer time than that– so Gray didn't know exactly how the process worked and that he would be able to tell if Natsu, was indeed, dead. It wasn't until Mavis confirmed it that they all believed her. It took over two years until the black wizard was accepted into Fairy Tail, and he was still more or less a loner save for Mavis of course (the guild wasn't exactly ecstatic about the two's relationship), Gildarts (only due to the fact that he had helped Natsu escape at the time when he was pregnant with the twins and was like a father figure to him up until his godchildren were one years old. He didn't have a choice but to at least check in with the guild and give them any information he found out about _him_ ), and Happy (since he knew the truth and his best buddy had accepted Zeref only because Natsu did).

It wasn't easy to break Ankhseram's curse and both Mavis and Zeref had almost died during the process, but between the combined power that was unlocked when he went into his E.N.D form and Fairy Heart, it had been cured, a true miracle. At first the fire mage was adverse to the idea of having anything to do with Zeref, but Mavis had persuaded him to give the dark haired mage a chance. He was Natsu's only blood related family left and he would regret it later on in the future if he didn't give him a chance.

So with extreme reluctance, the fire dragonslayer got to know his brother and they had managed to form a brotherly bond within the past couple of years. Afterwards, the black wizard had to be convinced that he wasn't a complete monster and that it would be difficult to _not_ give up on humanity with everything that he had seen. It didn't excuse his attempt at a complete human genocide but with another outlook shown by Natsu and some persuasion, he had started to use his power for good.

If he didn't do it for himself than he could at least attempt to make a change for his baby brother; it was the least he could do after resurrecting him as the ultimate demon (something no else save for Gildarts and obviously Mavis knew) and tying their lives together. After a while Zeref didn't need to be convinced anymore and started to do good on his own. It was hard to not become a better person with Natsu. He brought out the best of everyone.

"And he's a lot nicer and less icy, still a little sad and upset at times, but he's gotten much better and has almost made a full recovery." Mavis lied through her teeth.

When the two saw that Natsu wasn't going to give them a response they slowly shook their heads in exasperation. "Just think about it."

"Hn," he grunted as he watched her leave his children's room in his small one bedroom and one bathroom loft, since his old cabin had been destroyed a year after his "death". Apparently, the reminder was too hard for the others. No matter how much the three older adults wanted to help financially, the pink haired male refused. It wasn't as if it was too expensive. It was a perfect location, far on the outskirts of town, making it cheaper at only 35,000 jewels.

While Natsu had been on the run he had done some training in his –very little– free time with all three adults when they were available and had learned some things, such as simple imitation magic that he would use for whenever he went into any towns to gain money with small jobs and to leave in and out without suspicion rising. Zeref had also taught him how to cover his scent so that no dragon slayers would be able to detect neither his scent nor his voice. That had also went for any and every person he made contact with. Gildarts had finally given in and fought Natsu full out, mainly due to his E.N.D powers being acquired. Zeref had destroyed his book once he was cured since he would no longer need it for Natsu to be safe. However, it did not change the fact that he was still an Etherious who had not only dangerously strong magic but also had the ability to use curses as well, both that needed to be controlled. Mavis had wanted to kill her husband when she saw the amount of magic power he had given his brother. It was almost unlimited like Fairy Heart; which was why he was on the run from _him_ (well one of the reasons). He was seen as a threat and needed to be eliminated.

Since Gildarts had a vast amount of destructive magic along with Mavis whose magic power _was_ unlimited, they had taught him well. So while he had been taught by the very best, he had still had a form that needed to be contained. He couldn't exactly walk around with red scales covering the top half of his face and running down his outer arm with claw like hands and black wings to match the intricate markings that started right below his facial scales that ran down the right side of his face and neck. As much as it was a nuisance at times, he preferred his hair salmon instead of blood red with black streaks. His emerald eyes were appreciated more than the pitch black and amber ones that flashed red. And the horns were definitely a head turner, but not in the good way. He could usually keep his form under control. The only time it ever appeared was whenever he sensed a threat to his children.

Surprisingly, the children weren't bothered in the least. Everyone came to the conclusion that even though the form was terrifying, the twins knew deep down that it was still their mother and he was protecting them. It was a draconic instinct that they seemed have to been born with, something that disturbed Natsu to his core. He had been the same way and he knew why now. It made perfect sense, but he still didn't want to believe it.

Natsu looked down at the almost two year olds raise their noses to sniff the air before their eyes widened and they exclaimed simultaneously "Happy!"

Sure enough, no more than five seconds later, the blue cat flew into the twins room. It was things like that that scared the fire mage. They had draconic senses but were never taught magic of any kind. They definitely had the reserves. Their father and his father were and are both incredibly strong devil slayers and their mother was a mage with three different powers: dragonslayer magic, Etherious curses, and his unique combination of both fused with black magic. Not to mention their uncle was the strongest wizard ever and his other family member…. well he wouldn't go into that. He's the reason Natsu is running and the reason he has refused to teach his children dragonslayer magic.

"Hey Nix. Hey Crys." The exceed yawned as he flew into the only closed off room, aside from the bathroom.

They looked up to the cat like a big brother. He tried the uncle card but it wasn't the same. They couldn't take him seriously enough for that. He slept on the recliner while Natsu took the fold out couch. The only reason the pink haired could even afford this place (aside from the location) was because Mavis and Zeref paid for the down payment when he returned to Magnolia after being away for those years (not that he had a choice). He was eternally grateful for everything his brother and sister and law had done the past two months of his return.

The only reason he had even returned was due to hearing of the current master's condition. He was sick and although it wasn't serious and Porlyusica said he would be fine, the man was still old and the fire mage would never forgive himself if he didn't see gramps again. He was here for that and other reasons. Natsu was already upset, feeling guilty that Crystal and Phoenix had never met the rest of their "family." He felt even guiltier that his family thought he was dead. Happy had to feign sadness everytime he came to the guild to "check in" seeing as how he had joined Gildarts and disappeared for months on end (the longest being a little over a year). Zeref and Mavis both had pretended to go on long missions; when really the blonde had been acting as the fire mages midwife. Thankfully, they had given he and Gildarts those new cellphone lacrimas to contact them. At first the crash mage didn't care for it and therefore had no idea how to work it, but he learned quickly when Natsu had to go to the hospital to give birth to the twins. They had used a henge on Natsu and the babies.

It was quite amusing to see the big bad strong mage running around frantically. It had been a distraction for Natsu's pain at the time. After the years gone, he was back for who knew how long. He had saved up money that would be used for the next six months of his rent and necessities for the twins. The one thing he hated most (aside from being away from family and friends during his entire life with the twins) was his never having Igneel meet his grandchildren. He would on occasion return to their cave at times when he missed him and it was the first place he took his kids after they were born. Of course it wasn't the same as when he lived there; however, the twins had still taken a liking to his old home. But the cave had its downsides. It had originally saddened him as a reminder that he only had one immediate family member left. But at least he wasn't alone.

Besides, Natsu had a new family, even if it was a little broken. It wasn't like he could go up to the guild and ask if anyone wanted to help him build a new place to live in. It had been over two and a half years since they had spoken and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of their wrath (particularly Erza's) when they found out the truth, despite their willingness to want to help. They would train ten times harder and attempt to protect all three of them, and Natsu couldn't bring himself to put them in any more danger than he was already in.

The idea of his nakama –of Gray– getting hurt because of him was too much to bear. The fire mage shook his head to clear his thoughts before looking down to give the twins a soft smile reserved for them only. He didn't need to think about the ice mage and his deep blue eyes. He was a part of an old chapter of Natsu's life. His new little blue eyed bundles of joy was the new chapter and the only one he would focus on. They were his number one priority. After taking the twins to bed and singing them both a lullaby, he gave a relieved sigh when they had fallen asleep. He gave each a soft kiss to their forehead before placing them in their respective cribs again. The pink haired male checked to make sure the baby monitor was on before leaving out, only to see the couple still in his apartment, only this time Mavis had made herself comfortable on one of the plastic stools at the small round four seater plastic table next to the one-wall kitchen. Natsu could hear that Zeref had left out, most likely to take care of things pertaining to the guild.

"Don't you have a certain husband to get back to? Black hair? Matching black eyes? _Very_ moody personality? Overly confident in his powers? Yet very socially inept? And somehow the brother that I've come to actually like?" The pink haired mage said sarcastically.

Mavis didn't bother to bristle at the insult since it was a joke. Instead she sighed and shook her head, knowing that there was no getting through to the stubborn male.

"Just think about it. He deserves a chance." The fire mage shrugged and avoided her eyes.

The blonde made her way to the front door. "He will find out one way or another so at least put yourself in his shoes. How would you feel if you found out through a stranger that the love of your life who you thought was dead was indeed alive and raising your two beautiful children you knew nothing about without him?" With that she left out, leaving the parent to sit and percolate.

 _Dammit_. He thought. _Why does she have to be right?_


	2. Day In The Life of Gray Fullbuster

**Gray's POV is going to be more dramatic than Natsu's so don't expect light heartedness because you will get none from him. He's the perfect angst character. Now onto the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, Gratsu would take over the series and if they didn't, then it'd be a Natsu harem. Also, Lisanna would still be dead**

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A Day in the Life of Gray Fullbuster

"Gray!" The ginger playboy called as he approached the ice mage, eyeing ladies on his way over to him.

The raven rolled his eyes and smirked at his best friend. Almost three years later and Loke still hadn't changed at all. Well, aside from his serious relationship with the ice mage's ex teammate Lucy, but Gray still knew that wouldn't stop him from checking out others of the female persuasion. The idea of Loke being tied down that much didn't seem possible. The Leo spirit patted him on the shoulder before both males made their way to the rebuilt guild, since the other had been destroyed in the Alvarez war. It was as if Fairy Tail was cursed with their bad luck of property damage, only their own guilds destruction was usually due to the enemy.

He made his way over to the bar and mumbled a half ass greeting at a smiling Mira before asking for a drink. Granted, it was only noon, but it was never too early to drink. At least, nowadays. People had and still did worry for him, thinking that he was an alcoholic since he drank more than Cana now. They were just being overprotective to the point of annoyance. He was fine. As long as he didn't drink on missions then it didn't matter. Those were Gray's thoughts at least. Besides, the raven had a valid reason to drink; a very valid one. A pink haired, emerald green eyed, bright smiled reason… He snapped out of it when Loke called his name, seeing where his thoughts were going. Everyone knew what that faraway look on Gray's face had meant and they had to act fast before he lost himself in his own world or else it could get ugly.

"Here you go!" Mira chirped, the usual smile on her face.

If you didn't know the barmaid you would think she was her old sweet and perky self; but those who did know her saw that her smile never reached her eyes and half of the time it seemed strained. She (and even Gajeel) no longer sung for the guild and she only fought when extremely necessary; which was far and few. And when she did fight, it was a bloodbath and they often had to restrain her from killing her opponent (an almost impossible task). It didn't take a genius to see that she took out all of her pent up anger on her opponent. Erza wasn't much better; if anything, she was ten times worse. Even Laxus himself couldn't hold her back. He usually needed the aid of Jellal and Gramps to get the requip mage to calm down.

Everyone's emotions had taken control of their fighting. Fairy Tail's new competition team of Erza, Mira, Gajeel, Laxus, and Gray had been kicked out of the Grand Magic Games for being "too ruthless and barbaric" on the other opponents. The iron mage gave them an earful on his opinion of their decision; which didn't help at all. In the end, they were replaced with Cana, Juvia, Elfman, Jellal (who had joined Fairy Tail afterward, knowing Natsu would want that for Erza's sake), and Freed. Technically, the fiasco had been the Masters fault. He shouldn't have chosen the people closest to the now deceased fire dragonslayer to attend, let alone participate, in the event only a year after his death. Lucy and Wendy didn't even go to Crocus, still being too distraught. They couldn't be mad at him though, he was only trying to distract his children from their grief. The distraction worked for a moment and they had been doing somewhat well; that is until the final day. Fairy Tail was in third place behind Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel since the former number one guild hadn't been focusing on training in the last year. They weren't the only guild to be hit hard.

Sabertooth was in pretty bad shape as well. Minerva had to act as guild master while Rogue tended to a distraught Sting and Yukino. The guild still participated but the Twin Dragons didn't. Sting was the guild master now and Rogue wouldn't fight without him. Yukino had chosen to fight in honor of the dragonslayer and the guild wasn't half bad but they weren't the same without their dragonslayer duo. Jura was out of commission since he was still being tended to from his near death experience with God Serena, and Chelia was also out seeing as she had no magic at all but Lamia Scale still managed to obtain the number two spot. The fact that the dog boy and megabrows were doing better than Fairy Tail spoke in volumes about their condition. Either way, they managed to get everything over with and had held it together until the last day.

No one knew that the king would be stupid enough to do a tribute to Natsu before the last event. There had been a moment of silence followed by a few words from the king himself and finally a lacrima video montage of his performance from the last Games they participated in, along with the dragons attack. From the fight with the Twin Dragons to the one with Future Rogue and his accidental destruction of the Eclipse Gate. The crowd had laughed at the video of Natsu impersonating the king at the ball but what had really hit home for the Fairy Tail wizards was the last clip of the carriage event and the speech the beloved fire mage gave about his nakama during it. The king meant well but it didn't go as intended for the members of Fairy Tail. That had been the kindest yet cruelest thing to happen to them. No more than thirty seconds into the final battle royale, Fairy Tail had demolished a majority of the other guild members, leaving them in a state that would put the old Minerva to shame. The event was quickly halted and the original Fairy Tail team had been swapped with more reliable members. Gajeel hadn't been the only one to get upset. Erza and even Mira had gone off the deep end, threatening the judges and the king himself. Laxus had used his lightning to cut off all of the lacrima's electricity and Gray had simply stormed out, leaving the entire arena covered in ice. Safe to say that Fairy Tail didn't participate in this past year's game and didn't plan to in this year's one until Gildarts –out of all people– literally smacked some sense into the guild members (well the ones who could take it).

Both he and Happy had returned after finding out what had happened and gave them a free pass at not participating last year but they would have to participate in this one coming up soon. They had made an excellent point, saying that Natsu wouldn't want them to stop living their old lives because of him. If anything, he would kick their asses if he found out the state they were in. That had made the guild laugh for the first time in two years. So eventually after persuasion from Happy and injuries from Gildarts, they had agreed to participate in honor of the pink haired destructive yet lovable idiot. Well, everyone save Gray, but no one had pushed him. They all understood that he needed more time than anyone else (minus Happy of course) to heal. Their mistake was giving him too much alone time to cope since his version of coping was getting drunk out of this mind and having multiple one night stands. Every morning when he woke up in someone else's bed (he had refused for anyone aside from Natsu to sleep in his) the guilt would hit him like a train and he would try to forget it by alternating between smoking and drinking again. That had been his new life six months after his mate's death. Morning: drink, Afternoon: smoke, Evening: smoke and drink, Night: random stranger sex. He had had multiple one on one talks but nothing worked. Whenever one of the guild members tried to break into his home to get rid of his stash of cigarettes and alcohol, he would freeze the walls in his devil slayer ice. There was only one person who could melt it and they were gone forever.

"Gray-sama!" The ice mage lifted his head he had unconsciously dropped onto the counter to see the blue haired water mage standing behind him.

By the looks of it she had been standing there for a while if her angry expression was anything to go by. Juvia had surprisingly backed off after the Alvarez war and gave up on the already taken devil slayer. She had turned to Lyon and was gladly accepted, although she had found a new love rival in the pinkette of Crime Sorciere. It didn't help that Meredy was now a member of the guild, seeing as how she saw Jellal as a big brother and couldn't find it in herself to leave his side. When the water mage wasn't with her boyfriend or on jobs, she was trying to help Gray and be his sponsor. It didn't stop him from drinking at all, but it would lessen the amount that he drank at times.

"What now Juvia? I'm not giving you my drink." Gray narrowed his eyes at her and held the mug of alcohol protectively.

Juvia just shook her head. "Juvia is not trying to take Gray-sama's drink. Juvia would like for Gray-sama to go on a job with her!"

She held out a flyer to him. His eyes scanned over it quickly. It was simple enough. They just had to take out a few bandits that had been causing trouble around the edge of Magnolia. That area tended to be shady seeing as it was the farthest away from the guild. The reward was 200,000 jewels. These people must be desperate to pay this for such an easy job. The raven just shrugged. He could honestly care less. The split money was enough to pay his rent and that was all that mattered to him.

"Sure. Whatever. When's the job?" He asked disinterestedly.

Juvia resisted the urge to drown him as she said "It is tomorrow. Juvia will meet you at the guild at two o'clock."

Gray nodded and waved his hand, dismissing her; however Juvia wasn't having it. The rest of the guild may baby him but she would not. She formed a water bubble around his head and then his hands so that he couldn't get into his ice make stance. The water mage usually wouldn't be able to hold it this long, but the effect of the three drinks he had taken were taking a toll on both Gray's physical and magical abilities. Once Juvia was content on seeing him struggle for a few minutes, she released the spell and smirked at the pissed off raven.

"What the fuck Juvia! You bitch! Were you trying to kill me?!"

The water mage got directly in her former love's face. "No, but Juvia is teaching Gray-sama a lesson. Unlike the others, you will not treat her like shit because she will not tolerate it. Juvia will not baby you like the other members because she doesn't give a fuck about your feelings. She will do WHATEVER it takes to make you get your shit together because frankly, you and she both know that he would be ashamed if he saw you like this." Juvia snarled before turning around and walking out of the guild hall. It was silent until the room sounded with a loud

"Juvia is a real man!" followed by a few chuckles.

"Fuck you guys!" Gray snarled before storming out and most likely to another bar.

Everyone in the guild took Juvia's words to heart. The water mage had been right about everything. The other members had been babying Gray these past years because they had known Natsu as long as Gray and had imagined themselves in his shoes. The fire mage was everyone's sunshine (he was certainly hot enough to rival the sun) and those who were closest to him had been stuck in their own bubble of depression that they either paid Gray no mind or they left him alone out of respect. But that would change. This wasn't the Gray everyone knew. This Gray didn't deserve their respect and they would be damned if they continued to give him any. The devil slayer needed an intervention, and soon.

FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT

Meanwhile, said devil slayer had already left the guild while the others were in their own thoughts. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans that were still on. Gray had changed immensely over the past almost three years. Now it was rare if you saw him without clothes. He hadn't stripped once since Natsu died, not even taking off a shoe let alone a shirt. The raven made his way through town until he reached the bar he usually went to when he wanted to get away from his fellow guild members. The place was a complete dump, not even worthy of Gajeel's time and the iron dragonslayer went almost anywhere. Instead of going inside like everyone assumed he did, the mage went around back and into the alley. One glance at his watch showed that he was a few minutes late, but he knew that she wouldn't care, as long as she got her money.

"Took you long enough," a slender dark haired female said, leaning against the dirty brick wall.

She had her usual black and blue hoodie pulled up and over her head and if you looked close enough you could barely make out the same bored and impatient expression on the female's face. Gray rolled his eyes as he approached her.

"It's not my fault the others don't want to mind their own damn business; especially that bitch Juvia. She keeps trying to be my sponsor and shit. It's annoying as fuck." He told the female.

She rolled her dark eyes in response, never being one to care about his life problems. To her he was simply another customer and the raven knew that; which was exactly why he liked her. She didn't pity him or try to "help."

"Sucks for you Fullbuster. Here," the female said, pulling out a small plastic baggy of what looked like white powder.

Gray's eyes lit up for the first time today. Seeing his precious powder was the only time they ever lit up. He handed her forty thousand jewels; he knew that it was pricey but thought that it worth was it. The dark haired female double checked the bag of jewels before nodding.

"Are you joinin us this time or you gonna go solo?" She inquired.

Gray thought about her offer for a minute before shaking his head.

"Nah. I'm good. I might hit you up later though."

The female shrugged and disappeared from the alley as if into thin air. Gray put his special baggy in his jacket's inside pocket before waltzing into the bar and ordering his usual. He went to the bathroom while his drink was being prepared and locked the door behind him before pulling out his baggy. The devil slayer put a napkin on the sink countertop before pouring some of the white powder onto it and quickly making a small ice blade. He cut the powder into small lines and rolled up the bank notes that he kept with him in his pocket before placing it on one of the lines and holding it to his nose. Gray took a deep breath before taking a snort of the first line of cocaine. He took one more before leaning against the wall and sighing in ecstasy.

This was what he wanted; what he needed. Coke took off the constant edge he was on; it made his mind go blank, causing him to forget everything and everyone. All of his problems just went away for an hour. It may not have seemed long but it was still one less hour of pain. After a few minutes, he cleaned up and put the rest of cocaine in his plastic baggy and into his jacket pocket. He would finish the rest at home. Gray quickly went into the stall to wipe up his now runny nose. Stupid drug repercussions.

The devil slayer walked out of the bathroom, a pep in his step and a cocky smirk on his face. The bar tender rose an eyebrow at the one eighty attitude change but shook his head and went back to his other customer. The burly man knew what Gray did in there, he had seen the raven come out of the bathroom many a day with a runny nose or some light residue above his lip. It was no secret, but it wasn't his business so he wouldn't pry. Every person handled their problems differently and he knew the moment he first saw the mage walk through his doors almost three years ago that the kid had some serious problems. It was clear that the raven had seen and been through more pain than anyone should ever have to go through in their life.

"Hey Bernie! Where's my drink?" Gray asked the bartender, looking around for his mug.

Bernie shook his head. "Now you have to wait an hour. You know I don't let you do that shit and drink at the same time."

Just because Bernie felt for the kid didn't mean that he would let him die. Everyone knew the combination of alcohol and whatever drug Bernie knew he was taking was practically an automatic death. He wasn't the guys keeper but the bartender wouldn't be the one to fill out a form for a dead person at his place. Bernie's Bar wasn't a fine establishment by any means but it wasn't bad enough that he would allow people to die in it. He still had somewhat of a reputation in this part of town.

Gray groaned dramatically at the large man, giving him the stink eye and scowling.

"Damn Bern, why do you have to be such a buzz kill all the time?"

The bartender shook his head and snorted at the raven's antics.

"Look, kid. You ain't dyin cuz of me, 'specially not at my bar. I ain't gonna be the one responsible for the death of your fancy guilds members."

"I should've gone with Jenna." Gray mumbled, referring to the dark haired female dealer.

"That chicks group? You know that other short chick in your little crackhead gang died yesterday from doin what you're tryna do?"

Bernie nodded his head when he saw Gray's eyes snap to his and continued. "Yup. She decided she wanted to chug a bottle of whiskey after doing whatever it is you do in that bathroom. Had a seizure and died right then and there. So, no. You're not gettin a drink yet."

Gray sat back in shock. Tammy died? She was the most careful one out of the four of them. Her death didn't affect him like it would if it was a guild member but it still shocked him….. For about five seconds. Oh well. She slipped and it was too bad for her. He shrugged and hopped off the barstool. The devil slayer sighed as he waltzed to the door before looking back at Bernie.

"I'll be back in an hour. My drink better be ready by then."

And with that he was gone to go find a stranger –or two– to sleep with tonight.

Welcome to the new life of Gray Fullbuster.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to R &R!**


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